Changing The Culture

I was reminded of how President Barack Obama is changing our culture when reading a pool report yesterday on First Lady Michelle Obama's hosting of 180 students from D.C. elementary schools at the White House. The White House's chief usher reminded the children -- most of them black -- that the nation's executive mansion was built by slaves. That's something he couldn't have said, wouldn't have said, and would have made headlines if he'd uttered the phrase if the president were white and the first lady wasn't a direct descendant of those slaves Amid the economic crisis and the daily scrum, one can quite easily lose sight of the importance of this juxtaposition. And then there's this: a serious, light-hearted effort to change urban linguistics....instead of using the N word, use "president."  Even if it's a satire or parody, it works. (Update: it _is_ a parody.)  And still... it's provocative.